hi TrainerDan
i have been all over the exercise forums, hoping to find the right advice without asking "already been answered" questions. so much info. some conflicting. i belong to the Y but money is tight, can't afford a trainer right now, and i need help! this might be a bit long-winded ~ hope you don't mind.....

First, about me: i am 40 yrs old, female. have lost 20 lbs with semi low carb and intermittent exercise. i am 5'6". need to lose about 50 more lbs. EEk!

i'm not a beginner at weight training. i'm sort of in between. i love it. but i'm not an expert or heavy lifter. it's been intermittent so i haven't really done anything past maintaining strength. i hate cardio. but i do it because i have to. (or i thought i had to-?)

right now i am floundering around with putting a real routine together for myself and i'm not sure what to follow. i hit the gym 4-5 days per week. alternating days i usually do short cardio warm up with upper or lower body weight training, on fridays i take a 1 hour body pump class which i wouldn't give up for anything! (unless of course you think it's not worth my time)
my cardio days have been 20-30 minutes, alternating 2 minutes moderate intensity, 1 minute high intensity, etc. God i hate it!

i have read so much of your advice, you seem so knowledgeable. i would really appreciate any advice from you on this stuff.

~i thought cardio warm up was neccessary before weights, but many on here say they do cardio after. what should i do?

~ will i lose the fat if i decrease cardio and increase weight training? if so how would you suggest? i would love to decrease cardio! would supersetting accomplish this?

~ i'm thinking i should do my weight training workouts mon & wed, since bodypump is all over body workout on friday. do you agree?

~ been doing all workouts on empty stomach, as per Protein Power book. lot's of people seem to use fast carb prior to working out.

TrainerDan i need advice! when you have time, please post to me!
thanks so much in advance.

hello? trainerdan? anyone?

ok i guess i can reply to myself for now

anyone whose interested; since that post ^, i have found even MORE info on this board. i have decided that it sounds better to do cardio after weights, if done on the same day.
but also i have learned a lot about BFL. i have had the book for a few years. i initially felt it was too complicated for me to follow. i was a total beginner at that time. but in these last few years i've learned a lot about weight training, etc. and i am contemplating BFL with Protein Power. (i'm already doing PP)

this is a great board. thanks to everyone for sharing so much helpful info!
and if anyone wants to reply to this i'd still love any input.

Hi, here's what I think as per your questions:
-cardio warmup is not neccessary before weights. You can do a little if you want to, but generally you do weights before cardio, if you have to do them on the same day. You can do some light stretching to open yourself up a little & get warm for lifting; you don't need too much.
-You will lose weight if you build more muscle. So, yes, increasing your lifting will help. The best changes to make is in the variety and intensity of the lifts. You simply can not indefinitely make progress if you don't vary your routine. You have to lift heavier, cause our bodies get used to the current weight (poundage) very quickly, and to keep getting stronger your muscles need to be challenged to their max. That's the way building strength works. I say this because you said you work to maintain your strength, which makes me think that you use the same set weight(s) and don't go up in weight or change up your routine often. I'm sorry if I'm mistaken!
-If you have a super great lifting regime, I don't see why you shouldn't drop cardio if you hate it so much. I olympic lift, which is pretty intense, so I hardly ever feel the strong urge to do cardio, which is tedious and boring to me.But when I do, it's the HIIT type, same as you. I think it's up to you. If you feel like you're getting a good workout with the weights, go ahead and lose some of the cardio, especially if you dread it. I think exercise should be fun, not a horrible chore. Maybe you will feel like adding in cardio again later, after you've seen how much weights alone can do for you, and are all motivated to do even more working out.
- Yes, do you weights mon& wed, since you have a serious workout friday. That's the way to do it. Your muscles need a day in between for recovery.
-About the carbs before working out, I think those people have it becuase they feel like they need it; they may feel weak during workout. If you feel fine during your workouts, i don't see why you'd need it. A protein shake directly after working out, however, helps with soreness/ recovery.

hi lilli thanks so much for responding!
i appreciate your advice, and i think it sounds right on!
do you do BFL?
so you are saying that you find you lose weight (fat) with lifting only and no cardio? that is music to my ears.
do you think i could do the BFL thing and still keep my bodypump class one day per week? not sure if i want to , still debating everything.
anyway thanks again!

No, i don't do BFL.
If you like your class, you should definitely keep it. Working out should be something you look forward to.
I do cardio on the elliptical when I feel like it, basically. When i start to dread it, i give it a rest. I do walk all the time to run errands, rather than drive, if the place i need to go is close enough. I count that as light cardio. Weightlifting has reshaped my body. Cardio doesn't do that. It helps, every little bit of exercise helps. But if you hate cardio, you can definitely be sure that a good weight regimen won't fail you. By the way, I don't weigh myself. You might find that with lifting the scale doesn't change very much, but your body composition changes noticably. Muscle weighs more than fat, so don't let that discourage you on the scale.

hi lilli ~
i understand the whole concept of muscle being more dense than fat, and that i may not lose lbs on the scale even tho' my body will change, but.......

i am 5'6" and i weigh 194 right now. eventually my weight will have to go down, right?? i mean, i know it sounds like a silly question, but 194 is def. not an ideal weight for me, muscular or not!
i can still hope to see the scale move down at some point, right?

sometimes i start thinnking crazy, like no matter what i do i am stuck in the 190's forever! i know that can't be.

Yes, I'm sure you'll lose weight. If you don't already, pay more attention to your proportions than the scale, as you will be losing fat and gaining muscle. You put on the most muscle the quickest at the beginning of a serious lifting program; As you get closer to your body's natural weight, it might not change so much on the scale. And who really knows what their bodies set point is??!! I haven't weighed myself since i was 158, and I've changed since then, but don't even want to look on the scale & get discouraged, cuz I know i've put on a lot of muscle.

Hello Lasha,

My wife, daughter and myself have great benefit by performing HIT, high intensity training, once a week. 8-10 min warming up on hometrainer, about 20 min static stretching, about 45 min HIT.

Wife and daughter have now very good looking arms for instance, my wife at 44 is getting a real firm and tight, strong body. It´s good for your breastsize and cellulite too. They are doing it about one year now.

So by investing in quality I managed to find a working system with great results.

My HIT: start with 2 reps, add one rep each week, when you are at six you ad 2 kg and start over. Slow movement, heavy weights. Compound exercises with dumbbell or barbell.

I am not Trainer Dan But will offer .02

Cardio,. Pre weightlifting only 5 minutes to get your body warm.
Don't touch a weight till you break a sweat!
weight lift and THEN do extended cardio. It is alot harder to do cardio after weights but your body is set up to burn fat and this continues the process.
Weights M & W is good if you are doing a FBW on Friday.
Do HIIT on T TH and Sat.

On the Carbs! Big time topic there. I don't do carbs pre or post workout. I am also trying to burn fat. It is recomended to to Whey protein and a small dose of carbs Pre or Post Work Out. I HAVE DONE 50/50 mix of Maltodextrin and Dextrose. I do 50g of carbs. I weight alot more that you and have more lean body mass. I don't notice any difference. The PWO carbs shut down the cortisol reposonse but that is not necessarily a bad thing to have the catabolic respone. You cannot have anobolism (growth) without catabilism (destruction). But you can have catabolism without anabolism.
Rob Faigin author of Natural Hormonal Enhancement (NHE) does not reccomend the PWO carbs due to stopping the cortisol.
Are you doing cardio in the morning on empty stomach? That is good. If you are weight lifting I would definatly eat some protein about 1 hour prior.
Weight lifting empty is not good.
http://forum.lowcarber.org/gallery/...00&ppuser=45794
My .02
Jag

thanks watcher and jagbender! i really appreciate your replies.

jagbender, on the carbs pre weight training:
i am working into BFL with low carb eating. in the book he says to always workout empty, no specification on whether it pre cardio or pre weights. but of course i am not eating his way, so....
i will take your advice and have a little protein an hour before on weights days. i do not want to be unknowingly sabotaging my muscle growth. i still have a lot of weight to lose (fat weight) but i really have a thing for weight training and getting some muscles going on!

Gosh there is so much conflicting info about this stuff.
the more i think i'm learning the more i find there is still to learn.

thanks again!

Yes there is a lot of conflicting information. Self education and experimentation with what works for you.
I have been a walking labratory for almost 2 years. 12-28-04 will be two years on the LC lifestyle for me.

Jag